What advantages to Regions does eSign of players and volunteers provide?

It eliminates the need to store paper forms for long periods of time, as the official eSignature will be maintained in eAYSO to meet legal requirements. Further, it protects the privacy of our players and volunteers, by allowing Regions to shred paper printouts after the season is over, rather than having to store them for years and run the risk that forms containing player or volunteer information could be lost or stolen. In the case of volunteers, it allows for faster background checks to speed up the approval process for AYSO volunteers. And, as AYSO moves to be more user friendly to today's internet savvy young families, it creates a simpler process for busy parents in registering their child.

As an Instructor, why can I no longer add certain types of attendees to a roster?

Instructors can still add walk-in attendees to their roster provided the “walk-in” is already a registered youth or adult volunteer in their Region. The new change in the course roster is the removal of the “Add New Volunteer” button in the “Add Attendee” screen in the roster. This change was made to preserve the integrity of the new eSign process. Enabling instructors to add attendees who were not already registered volunteers as “temporary applicants” caused course attendance and certification activity to be assigned to someone who had not yet completed a volunteer application and undergone a background check, which in turn created thousands of “orphan” certifications that never matched up with specific volunteer records. This recent change now means that when an instructor pulls a course roster in eAYSO, he/she should consider adding wording in the “Comments Section” that the attendee should pre-register in their Region in order to attend the course. The process is simple. The registration website address is www.eAYSO.org and assistance is available for the new volunteer at (866) 588-2976 during normal business hours of 8:00am-5:00pm PST.

What if there's no internet connection at my Region registration event?

Consider the use of a middle school or high school facility where there is often a computer lab with internet. Regions report that for the donation of some printer toner cartridges and several reams of paper, they are able to secure such facilities at no costs. Coffee shops or internet cafes may also be an option. They often like the additional foot traffic in their store that such an event provides. Also, nearby business hotels may be able to make space available for a reasonable price on the weekends and they frequently have wireless internet available. Some Regions have reported their use of a cellular air card (Hotspots) to get an internet connection for a computer station at Registration events. We don't recommend their use unless cellular reception is very strong and consistent in the vicinity of the location. Weak cellular coverage can cause very slow response and breaks in connection. If considering such a solution, we strongly urge it be tested first.

Please do not saturate your internet connection and operate too many computers/laptops on a given hotspot internet connection. If you operate too many computers/laptops on one Hotspot it will cause your internet connection to be slow and the response of eAYSO speed will decrease. If you are using a 3G Hotspot we recommend only using one computer/laptop with that Hotspot connection. The faster the speed is in your internet connection Hotspot; the more computers/laptops that can be added to it. If you notice your internet connection and speed is slow, start decreasing the number of computers/laptops you are using.

Is there any paperwork our Region needs to save?

eSign eliminates the need to store long-term Player Registration and Volunteer Application forms. Regions are still required to keep copies of all AYSO Incident Reports, SAI Claims, signed AYSO/CDC Concussion Information Sheets, Participation Release forms and Medical Release forms for the current Membership Year they are running. eSign does not mean paperless. It just means that if you have players registered through eSign, after the Membership Year is over the Region can shred and destroy the Player and Volunteer Applications for that Membership Year. They will not need to be stored. We recommend Regions to keep the standard procedure of having the parents/volunteers print two forms and mail them or bring them to Registration Events.

How about for past registration years?

For any registration years that the Region has not done eSign, it will continue to be necessary to retain the signed forms in a safe secure location. For legal reasons, paper copies must be stored for an unlimited amount of time, which is one of the reasons that eSign is such a valuable service going forward! If you did not use eSign for the 2013 Membership Year, it is also still necessary to forward copies of the signed player forms to the National Office.

How do we sign up for eSign?

Even if we decided to go completely with online registrations, we just know that a few people are going to show up not having done so. What then?

You could create a separate station for "problem registrations" equipped with a laptop, printer and an internet connection. In the case of a returning player or volunteer, the operator, with CVPA and Registrar training and access rights, can locate the registration record from the previous year and print two or more forms to be signed by the parent and then submitted. eAYSO will automatically adjust the age and division of the player to the new membership year. If using multiple laptops/ computers please make sure they are on a fast reliable internet connection. Hot Spots are not meant to be used with more than one computer. It will slow down the internet connection and consequently slow the experience on the eAYSO system.

How much time do we save using online forms rather than paper forms?

We've run some time studies on the time it takes a person to complete a registration using (a) a handwritten paper form; (b) a pre-printed paper application; and (c) an online application. On average, it takes about 4 minutes to process a handwritten form because all of the information must be typed into the system by the registrar. The pre-printed form takes about 2 minutes to process because any changes made to the form must be changed in the system as well. It takes 30 seconds to locate an online application and complete the registration. 4 minutes. Two minutes. 30 seconds. How valuable is your time?

Is it OK for a parent to sign the first page of the player registration form in ink for the coach's copy?

How will the parents know we are using eSign?

Towards the end of the application process, parents and volunteers will be notified that they are agreeing to use eSign. IMPORTANT: Parents should double check to make sure that they complete the process and their eSignature has been recorded. They will receive a message to confirm that their eSignature has been recorded.

Is the cost per eSigned player application or pre registered player form?

There is no charge for registering players by eSign. Use of pre-printed as well as blank forms will generate a charge to your region. As part of your Registration Kit Order, preprints subsidized costs are now $0.30 for Players, $0.20 for Volunteers, and $0.20 for Youth Volunteers, along with blank forms at $3.50 for Player form packs, $3.50 for Volunteer form packs, and $1.75 for Youth Volunteer packs.

What if we are using a third party registration system? Can we still eAYSO and eSign for our volunteers?

If we are using an alternate registration system can we use eSign for our players?

At this time AYSO cannot accept digital signatures from third party vendors, but we are working on solutions to facilitate the needs of Regions using alternate registration systems before eSign for player registration becomes the required method on August 1, 2014

How does my third-party registration provider interface with our system?

eSign is only available for applications completed through eAYSO. However, we understand there are a few Regions who rely on these vendors for custom interfaces and other features for player registration and Region administration. eSign for player registration will be required starting August 1, 2014. Regions using a third party vendor are still free to use them for player registration, but must maintain files of printed and signed copies of player registration forms each year and the form must include all of AYSO's waiver language. However, during the summer of 2013, the National Office will engage in outreach to Regions using third party vendors to explore practical ways to address their needs as AYSO transitions to full volunteer and player eSign registration in 2014.

How can I find out which volunteers used eSign?

Regions can use the "Volunteer Applicant Export" feature in eAYSO under Reports. This report will allow your Region's CVPA to provide a list of volunteer applicants for approval at a Regional Board meeting. Under the output fields choose "E-Sign" and "E-Sign Date". E-sign will displayer a "Y" or an "N" for Yes or NO. E-sign Date will give you a date IF the application was esigned.

I am a CVPA whose region is switching to eSign. How do I process volunteer applications now?

eSignature does not eliminate a Region's need for a paper copy of the Volunteer form - just the long term storage and the requirement to forward a signed copy to the National Office for background checking.

All brand new volunteers must be required to print and present a copy of the volunteer application to the Region in order for the Region to confirm their identity with a US Government issued photo ID (US Passport, US Military ID, US Alien Resident Card, State issued Driver's license or ID card) and for the Region to verify references. This procedure is not required of returning volunteers. After references are checked and the photo identification confirmed, the eSigned volunteer application can be shredded.

For Regions that do not have the ability to use eSign, all non-eSigned volunteer applications (even in an eSigned Region), either hand-written or created in eAYSO but not confirmed eSigned, must be hand signed and forwarded to the National Safe Haven Office.

We recommend eSignature Regions to keep the standard procedure of having the parents/volunteers print two forms and mail them or bring them to Registration Events. eSignature does not mean paperless, it just eliminates the long-term storage of applications.

I have NE Players listed in Region - Player - Registration screen. What do I Do?

NE means the player application is missing the electronic signature, therefore the application is incomplete. The parent needs to login to eAYSO.org. Click on the link Update player information.
They will then have two options:

Either finish off the registration by clicking edit.

Delete the application.

If they choose to register the player, the parent needs to click on Update Player information.
They will see the player listed there missing the electronic signature.
They need to click edit next to the player's name. Go through their application and make sure they completely sign and submit the form.
If they choose to delete the application need to click on Update Player information and click on Delete Applicant next to the players name. This will delete the NE Record that the Region sees in the Registration screen.
On this link you fill find step by step instructions for parents on NE Status.

I have NE Volunteers listed in Region - Volunteer - Registration screen. What do I Do?

NE means the Volunteer application is missing the electronic signature, therefore the application is incomplete.

The Volunteer needs to login to eAYSO.org.
Click on the link Update Volunteer information.
They will then have two options:

Either finish off the registration by clicking edit next to their name.

Delete the application

If they choose to register, the Volunteer needs to click on Update Volunteer information.
They will see their name listed there missing the electronic signature.
They need to click edit next to the Volunteer's name. Go through their application and make sure they completely sign and submit the form.
If they choose to delete the application they need to click on Update Volunteer information and click on Delete Applicant next to the Volunteer's name. This will delete the NE Record. On this link you fill find step by step instructions for Volunteers on NE Status.